Family Trip
by hokulele35
Summary: Max, Logan, Alec, and Zack go to Gillette. Virus getting cured eventually, kinda shippy. Only my 2nd fanfic so please R&R! *COMPLETE*
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer: If I owned it, would I be writing stories HERE? No, I would be writing ACTUAL episodes. So don't sue me.  
  
A/N: I don't know when this is, cuz the virus exists, but Zack is Zack, as opposed to Adam, so…yeah. Logan has the exoskeleton and it actually works. Asha isn't in this one, so pretend she's dead or whatever. Also, I know I'm attributing Max w/ much more control than she actually has in heat, but hey, if she just jumped Zack there wouldn't be a story, so cut me some slack. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
Max picked the lock to Logan's penthouse and let herself in.  
  
"Logan?" she called.  
  
"Mmph…" was the only reply she got. Hearing the telltale click-click of the keyboard, Max headed to the computer room.  
  
"Hey," she greeted him.  
  
"Hey yourself," he replied.  
  
"Are you gonna make me go and save the world again?" she asked, standing behind him to read the screen, always careful not to get too close.  
  
"Not sure, exactly. You like mysteries?"  
  
"Logan, you know I'm not much for reading. Although, y'know, curling up in front of the fire…"  
  
"No, not that kind of mystery." Logan stopped her before she took that thought any further and took him with her. "I meant mysteries you actually have to solve. Wanna do a little investigative work for me?"  
  
Max loved the way he threw "for me" in there. Did he know that that was what made her do whatever he told her, time after time?  
  
"Yeah, sure. What's up?"  
  
"Somebody's been hanging around in the spot Manticore was in. Looking at stuff, poking around, digging, stuff like that…"  
  
"…and you want me to go see what he's up to," she finished.  
  
"Yeah. But actually, it's a she."  
  
"Oh." Max looked a little surprised. "Well, whatever. No problem, I can do that."  
  
"No doubt. But Max, you don't know what this person is…X-5 or X-8 or something else? Even for an X-5 this could be hard." Even for you, he added silently.  
  
"So? What am I supposed to do?"  
  
"Well…for a few X-5s it couldn't be too bad…" he hinted.  
  
Max saw what he was getting at. She made a face. "Fine. I'll go find Alec and Zack. But I won't like it!" She turned to go.  
  
"Max…"  
  
She turned back. "Now what?"  
  
Logan hesitated. How were you supposed to say something like this? "Well, this could take a while…"  
  
"If you wanna come you can," Max cut in.  
  
"Sure?"  
  
She shrugged. "Yeah. I was hopin' you'd find an excuse to come with anyway. What am I supposed to do with those two for a week? And what if I go into heat while we're there?"  
  
"Can't do anything with me either," he pointed out.  
  
Max shrugged again, surprised at the implication that he would let her do anything with him anyway. "Still better than them. I'll go hunt them down and tell 'em to pack. Be back soon."  
  
"Sure," he mumbled, back to clicking at the computer again.  
  
Max sighed and walked out. 


	2. Problems

Three hours later, Max, Logan, Alec, and Zack were in Logan's Aztek on the way to Gillette.  
  
It had taken a while to figure out the seating arrangements. Everyone agreed Logan should drive, since it was his car, but that was the end of the agreements. Max and Logan both thought Max should sit in front. Alec thought Zack should sit in front. Zack thought Alec should sit in front.  
  
It seemed everyone wanted to sit next to Max.  
  
One black eye, one twisted arm, two stomped-on feet and an extremely amused Logan later, Max was sitting in the front, of course.  
  
Alec and Zack were staring out the windows, refusing to look at each other or anybody else.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Max asked tiredly.  
  
"Almost. But you're not supposed to get tired. What's your problem?" Logan teased.  
  
"Hey, I can get tired if I want to get tired! You wanna argue?"  
  
"Uh, no, that's okay," Logan replied, glancing in the mirror at the nice black eye Max had given Alec.  
  
Half an hour later, Logan pulled in to the gravel driveway of the log cabin they were renting.  
  
They all entered the cabin. Max immediately went to explore the whole place. She came back shortly.  
  
"Uh, Logan, did you check out the uh, bed situation?"  
  
"Um, I guess not. Problem?"  
  
"Not major. We got three bedrooms, one with a double bed and two with twins."  
  
Logan ditched the act and cut to the chase. "OK then, Zack and Alec can have their own rooms, and you and I can share."  
  
Zack joined the conversation. "Hello? Virus? Maxie and I can room together, we're brother and sister. We've done it before."  
  
Max and Logan both winced at his choice of words.  
  
"No way! I want my own room. You and Alec room together. Logan can have his own since he's got the exo and all."  
  
Nobody but Logan looked at all pleased with this, but they agreed. Max dumped her stuff on her bed and went to see what they were doing for lunch. Logan had went to go find some food. Max sat in an armchair to wait.  
  
Maybe she should have roomed with Alec or Zack. The virus kept Logan out of bounds, so what was the harm in having a little fun with Alec or Zack? They were both pretty cute anyway. Max was just about to approach one of them when realization hit her. "Crap!" she shouted. "Not now!" She started to run out the door.  
  
Zack looked up. "Whassamatter Maxie?"  
  
Max was just about to comment on how she loved it when he called her Maxie when she caught herself. "Nothin'. Just forgot my Tryptophan." With that she rushed out the door…  
  
…and straight into Logan. "Hey Max. You goin' somewhere?"  
  
She could feel her heart beating faster and faster and she really wanted to say No, of course not, but she couldn't. She just shook her head and ran off, leaving a puzzled Logan behind. 


	3. Oh Boy

An hour later, Max came back, feeling somewhat cooled off. She walked into the cabin. Logan was making spaghetti and Alec was watching TV. Max decided she shouldn't be around either of them while she was in heat, and so she went into her room to stretch out on the bed. She couldn't, though. Somebody had beat her to it.  
  
"Zack?"  
  
"Hey Maxie," Zack said quietly.  
  
"What are you d-doing in here?" Max said, although she could feel control already slipping away.  
  
"Just wondering if you needed any help."  
  
"Help? W-With what?" Does he know?  
  
"Is there anything at all I can help you with Maxie?"  
  
She started to back toward the door. Zack sat up and grabbed her arm. "Max, I know what's going on. I can help you, more than Logan can. He can't do a thing! Let me help you Maxie." Max shook her head, but she was getting weaker and weaker.  
  
Zack tugged gently on her arm and she sat down on the bed. She couldn't keep this up much longer, her body really wanted to but her mind knew she shouldn't. Unfortunately, her mind wasn't being loud enough in its objections.  
  
Zack kissed her gently and, to his surprise, she didn't pull away. He kissed her again and she kissed back. He was about to go farther when the door opened and Logan walked in.  
  
  
  
A/N: Evil cliffhangers…mwahaha…but I PROMISE I'll get the next chap up tomorrow. Doesn't this story suck? Why am I asking, all you ppl are too nice to be like, yea, it was crap, I would burn it if it was a flammable substance…anyway. 


	4. Good Consequences from Bad Events

Logan was calm but the hurt was visible in his eyes. His appearance brought Max back to reality. "Oh my god, what did I do?" she cried, jumping up from the bed.  
  
Zack slipped from the room, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "nothing yet…" as he went.  
  
Max sat numbly on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest, sobbing. She buried her head in her arms. "Logan, I – I didn't mean – I don't – he – we didn't – I'm sorry, I didn't mean – I couldn't help it – oh Logan, I'm so sorry!" she stuttered.  
  
"It's okay, Max, don't worry about it. It's not your fault," he soothed.  
  
"No it isn't okay! It is my fault! I – I…" she faltered. Logan put his arms around her, careful not to touch skin. She instinctively flinched away from his touch.  
  
"It's fine – clothes," he pointed out. Max dried her eyes on her sleeve and turned to look at him. She took one look into his eyes and saw that while his words were reassuring, he was not reassured. She broke into sobs again.  
  
"Max, it's okay! It's not your fault!"  
  
"Logan, I…I don't care about him…I mean, I do, but not in that way…I don't love him, Logan, I love you."  
  
"I know," he whispered. He paused, suddenly struck by the enormity of what she'd just said. "I love you too, I always have." 


	5. EXTRA #1 - Top 10 Improvements

This is not a chapter, just a little extra thingie since those last two were so short. Here is my list of 10 things that would make the show better:  
  
10) Logan and Max both get haircuts. They need them.  
  
9) Leprechauns gouge out Asha's eyeballs.  
  
8) Somebody clears all the confusing stuff up for us all.  
  
7) Asha is trampled by kiwi birds (or emus if none are available).  
  
6) Porpoises kidnap Asha, mistaking her for one of their own. No offense, porpoises.  
  
5) Mermaids pelt Asha to death with macadamia nuts (substitute filberts if necessary).  
  
4) Elephants see just how many times you can smash somebody (Asha) with your tusks.  
  
3) Dogs, birds, horses, etc. team up to make a "booby trap" for Asha.  
  
2) Somebody "accidently" shaves Asha's head.  
  
1) "Virus bitch goin' down! Max and Logan gettin' busy, that's the plan!"  
  
  
  
Was I too mean? Maybe. I don't think I hate her THAT much. Oh well, it was just supposed to be comedic (that is a good word. Also chimerical.). 


	6. The Next Day

The next day, there was still a lot of tension in the air. Zack wouldn't look at Max or Logan, neither of them would look at him. Alec looked at everyone, trying to figure out what was going on. And Max and Logan looked at each other a lot, of course.  
  
They went to the field that day to see if they could find anybody or anything. Max spent the entire time shaking and looking close to tears, even if soldiers don't cry. The feel of the place was still there – even Logan could feel something. Alec and Zack didn't look so great either.  
  
When they first got there Alec spotted a figure running away in the distance, so they decided to look around. Eventually, Logan found a paper on the ground. Everybody came running. He picked up the paper and immediately stopped smiling. "Max, is this what I think it is?" He looked worried.  
  
Max came over to see what was on the paper and went pale. She groaned. "Oh, crap!"  
  
Alec and Zack clamored over to see. Zack immediately recognized what was on the paper and winced, but Alec didn't.  
  
"What? I don't get it…that you or somethin'?"  
  
Max nodded. Whoever this person was had her barcode.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
That night, when everyone had gone to sleep, Max snuck out. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and checked the address written on it. She got on her bike and rode away (of COURSE she brought her bike!).  
  
She pulled up to a small building, double-checked the address, and knocked on the door. A woman in a white lab coat opened the door.  
  
"Hello, you must be Max."  
  
  
  
AN: Sorry this chap. took so long, I was sick all weekend. Also, sorry it's so short. But, I'm almost positive I can get the next chap. up tomorrow. 


	7. Finally

Max still felt really bad about the whole, uh, thing. She had to make it up to Logan somehow. So she'd done a little investigative work of her own. It had been WAY too easy, but she had already found an ex- Manticore lab tech in the area who said she thought she could help. That was where Dr. Hansen figured in.  
  
Max was just praying she knew something about anything. She had to make it up to Logan, had to make sure he knew she…well, she loved him. She'd said so already, but she felt like she had to prove it. Also, this would solve the entire problem of what to do when she went into heat. But she wasn't gonna think about that now.  
  
Dr. Hansen came back into the room with some papers. "You're in luck. I just dealt with a DNA-targeted virus last year. They sent someone to kill me because they thought I knew too much about…you know…anyway, I cured the kid 'cause he didn't really want to do it, had nothing personal against me. And I saved the papers." Here she shook the papers in her hand. Max smiled. "All I need is a blood sample from you and one from…whoever it's targeted to."  
  
"You need a sample from Logan? Damn. I was hopin'…I could…well, surprise him…" she mumbled.  
  
"You couldn't do it while he was asleep?"  
  
"No, he'd wake up. He tends to notice when people stick sharp objects into his arms or his legs or…legs! His legs!"  
  
"Huh?" said Dr. Hansen, confused.  
  
"He's paralyzed from the waist down, so if I stick him in the leg, he won't wake up!" she quickly ran off.  
  
  
  
Max crept silently into Logan's room. She listened to his breathing for a while to see if he was, in fact, asleep. He was. She snuck forward and stuck the needle into his leg. He didn't react. She pulled back on the handle and filled the small syringe. She smiled. "Thanks, Logan," she whispered and ran off again.  
  
  
  
Back at Dr. Hansen's office, Max stuck herself with another needle and reacted exactly the way Logan had (not at all). "Here ya go, is that it?" She handed the sample to Dr. Hansen.  
  
"Yep, that's all I need. Do you want to just wait here? This should only take an hour or so."  
  
Max nodded and spent the next hour daydreaming of all the – nevermind.  
  
"Okay, all set!" Dr. Hansen broke into Max's thoughts.  
  
"Really? Sure?"  
  
"Yeah. Inject yourself with this," she handed Max another syringe, "and wait an hour for it to circulate through." Max stuck herself again and waited there. She figured she could do a lot better at waiting if Logan wasn't in the next room.  
  
"Okay, you can go!" Dr. Hansen said brightly. Max's eyes lit up.  
  
"Thank you so much! How much do you want?" Max said, fishing around in her pockets.  
  
Dr. Hansen looked confused for a second, then – "Oh, no…you don't need to pay me!"  
  
Since Max wasn't one of those people that argues and tries to give people money anyway, she just shrugged and left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max arrived home, heart beating fast, and she wasn't even really in heat anymore. She went to her room and changed into pajama pants and a T- shirt, which, she realized, was Logan's. She wondered briefly when she got that, then left.  
  
She approached to door to Logan's room and took a deep breath before sneaking in for the second time that night. Logan was asleep on his side, kind of squished over to the side of the bed. Max climbed in in the small space that left for her. She just lay there and watched him. How do you expect her to sleep at a time like this?  
  
Around 3:00 she moved a little and accidently woke him up. His eyelids fluttered open and he saw her. "Max?!" He tried to jump out of bed, but without the exoskeleton he only succeeded in falling on his head. Max crawled to the edge of the bed and peered over at him.  
  
"Whatcha doin' down there silly?"  
  
"Max? What are you – what do – don't you – are – you're gonna – the virus – what are you doing?!" he spluttered.  
  
"It's okay, Logan…I got a cure…" she whispered simply.  
  
He just stared for a moment as this sunk in. Then, "Are you kidding?! That's great!"  
  
"Shhh! You'll wake everyone up." She put out a hand to help him back up. He took in tentatively and they both jumped at the touch. She pulled him up to the bed and they just stared at each other, both expecting him to break out in hives or whatever. He didn't. They both grinned and hugged each other. Their lips found each other and they kissed. The finally ended up asleep in each other's arms.  
  
  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long, I know I said I'd get it up Wednesday. But, since it was late, I gave you a nice, long, chapter (compared to my others at least). 4 more after this, then it's done… 


	8. Close Call

Max woke up first at 6:00. She remembered where she was, more importantly who else was where she was, even more importantly why they were where they were, and most importantly, what had happened where they were.  
  
"Crap!" she shouted, waking Logan up.  
  
"Mmmphh…," he groaned. "Whassamatter?"  
  
"I really hope no one else is awake yet, 'cause I have to walk out of YOUR room to get to the kitchen and everything's gonna be pretty obvious if they haven't figured it all out already!"  
  
"So? Do we care if they know?" Was she embarrassed by him?  
  
"I…I don't know…I just don't want to…not yet, Zack would freak, he'd probably try to kill you or something!"  
  
Logan frowned. She had a point. A stubborn, Max-ish kind of point, but still a point. He was not too fond of being attacked violently by enraged killing ma – no, no, he wasn't gonna think like that about ANY of them, even Zack, or else he'd have two after him, since Max didn't take to kindly to "thing," "it," "killing machine," "furry little friends," or anything like that.  
  
"Sneak out there and see. I don't hear anything, maybe everyone's still asleep," he said hopefully.  
  
"Right. Logan, we're X-5s…they probably never even went to sleep in the first place!" Max looked like this thought had just occurred to her. Still, she crept to the door and peered out. There was apparently nobody there, because she darted out and into her own room and collapsed on the bed with a sigh of relief.  
  
Max waited about an hour and then left her room. Everybody else was up already.  
  
"Mornin'!" Alec greeted brightly. Zack didn't. Nobody really seemed to suspect anything, but the look in Logan's eyes would have given it all away if they looked at him. Max warned him with her eyes and helped herself to eggs that he had made for breakfast.  
  
"Sleep well?" Logan asked.  
  
Max choked and spewed coffee all over. Alec helpfully whacked her on the back, so she returned the favor. "Oww!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head.  
  
Luckily, nobody seemed to suspect anything even now. "Uh, I slept okay…sleeping at all is good for me, I guess," she answered Logan. He winked.  
  
"So, I figured we'd go back and try again to catch our snoop?"  
  
"Kay," Max replied. "In a while, though? I'm kinda tired," she added, forgetting that she had slept well. 


	9. Revelations

"I still don't see why we have to do this at night. It's dark!" Max grumbled.  
  
"It's scarier. More suspenseful. Dramatic. Makes a better story," Zack replied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
The four of them were creeping along relatively silently through the ex-Manticorian field at night. Logan was tiptoe-ing really comically because he had wanted to be quiet like everyone else, but it just made him look funny.  
  
All of a sudden, there was a muffled whumph as Max, who was in front, ran into something. "Ack," she pointed out.  
  
Logan shined a flashlight at the whumphing thing so they could see what it was. Max gasped when she saw who she had bumped into.  
  
"Dr. Hansen?!"  
  
"What? Oh, it's Max, right?"  
  
Max nodded. "What are you doing here? And why do you have a picture of my barcode?"  
  
"Oh, that. I took it to compare to another picture. I thought I might know who your mother was." Max stared. "But it turns out it wasn't you…some other X-5. Sorry."  
  
"Oh. But what were you doing here anyway?"  
  
"Uh, I was…I was just trying to help," she began. "I wanted to get all the info I could to help the…transgenics with any Manticore-related problems. Like your virus. I kinda lied to you before – they never sent anybody after me. I just heard they were working with DNA-targeting and I did some research and came up with the cure. So, if anyone you know ever has, uh, problems, send 'em to me. I just want to help," she repeated.  
  
Nobody said anything for a long time. Max hadn't told Zack and Alec about the cure yet. Finally, Zack took a breath like he was going to speak. Max protectively inched toward Logan, ready to fight if the need arose.  
  
"You…you got…a cure? The virus?" Alec's eyes flicked back and forth like he was at a tennis match. Max nodded slowly. "Oh. So are y – I mean, uh, congratulations." Zack cut himself off before he could ask the question he didn't want an answer to. Max remained silent.  
  
Logan spoke up. "Sorry to bother you then, Dr. Hansen. We'll go now and leave you alone." Nobody said another word all the way until they went to bed. The thought of sneaking into Logan's room again never even crossed Max's mind. 


	10. The End!

A/N: Sorry this took SO long to get up here…I've been busy…but hey, if anyone still remembers this story, read on!  
  
  
  
The next day, Zack was gone. They found a short note with Alec's name on top that said he was okay and they should just go home.  
  
Max sank on to the couch, head in hands. Logan started to go comfort her, but she stopped him. "No, don't." Logan was hurt, but he knew she had a point. Him putting his arms around her right now was NOT going to help.  
  
"For what it's worth," Alec chimed in, "I'M happy for you."  
  
"Shut UP Alec!" they both snapped in unison.  
  
"Okay, okay!" He threw up his hands in defeat and retreated to his room. Which was now ONLY his room.  
  
"I'm sorry Max," Logan said softly.  
  
She looked up. "It's not your fault," she whispered, going to sit on his lap. She put her arms around his neck. "Not anyone's fault but his own, really. But still…" She trailed off.  
  
"I know," he murmured, putting his arms around her waist. "But it'll be okay. He'll come around."  
  
She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his chest. "Yeah, eventually. He doesn't really hate you, Logan. Nobody could hate you; you're too perfect." He smiled. Not quite true, but that didn't matter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next day Logan was awakened by a Max-ish shriek. "Logan!" She came stomping into the room with a trademark pout on her face. "He-he-he took it!" she shouted.  
  
"Whuff?" Logan said sleepily. "Who took what now?"  
  
"Zack! He TOOK my BIKE!"  
  
"Oh…I'm sure he'll give it back…"  
  
"We are going home. NOW! Alec!!" she called on her way out. Logan groaned and pulled himself out of bed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max's bike wasn't at her place or at Jampony. The last place they checked was Logan's penthouse. The bike was right in the middle of the floor.  
  
"Ooh, goodie!" Max breathed a sigh of relief and ran to her baby. "No scratches!" she announced happily. "No note, either," she added softly.  
  
"Max…" Logan started, enveloping her in a big hug. "It'll work out eventually, I promise."  
  
"Yeah…" she smiled. "And until then, he's not here to get in our way. We can live our lives."  
  
"Live our lives together," he corrected.  
  
"Together," she agreed, snuggling up against him.  
  
~*~THE END!~*~  
  
  
  
A/N: Didja like it? Lemme know! 


End file.
